Asylum-seeking immigrants to be welcomed 24/7 at New York City center

A 24/7 welcome center for asylum-seeking migrants is being established by the New York City government as thousands continue to be bused in, mostly from border states protesting President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.

Speaking Tuesday at City Hall standing beside a migrant, Mayor Eric Adams said the city also was consolidating the process to be managed by a new Office of Asylum Seeker Operations. 

"We have stood up, and we will continue to stand up," he said.

Almost 50,000 migrants have come since spring 2022, including nearly 13,000 children who are enrolled in public schools, he said.

Adams, who has demanded that the federal and state governments reimburse the city, has put the price tag at more than $4 billion, with certain municipal services in jeopardy for residents.

"This is a serious crisis that we're facing, New York," he said.

The announcement of the welcome center follows Adams’ remarks in January when he said of migrants: “there’s no more room at the inn.”

Perhaps unlike anywhere else in the nation, New York City is obligated under litigation dating back decades to provide shelter to anyone who wants it. 

As the migrant influx has pushed the city's homeless shelter system to the brink, Adams has considered several possibilities, including housing them in summer camps, on cruise ships or in tents.

 Adams, who in January visited a Texas border city, has called the nation's immigration situation "a real embarrassment." 

Tuesday, at City Hall, the migrant, whose name was given only as Abraham of Venezuela, described his journey through a river and a jungle en route to New York City. He urged the federal government to speed up the asylum process so migrants could settle in the United States.

"I want to thank God for taking me on this journey and allowing me to get here safely," he said through a translator, next to Adams.

Asked the basis for Abraham’s asylum claim, Adams said he didn’t want to jeopardize the case by letting Abraham explain.

To be granted asylum in the United States, an immigrant must prove past persecution, or a well-founded fear for future persecution, based on a protected ground covered by law, such as race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Under the Biden administration, most applicants are denied. In fiscal year 2021, 37% were granted, up from 29% a year before, under President Donald Trump, according to the TRAC data research center at Syracuse University. Those figures don’t include immigrants who don’t go through the process by filing for asylum. The center's analysis said a claim could take over 4 years.  As of December 2022, nearly 1.6 million asylum-seekers were waiting for a hearing, a record. 

Adams wants to connect migrants to jobs, giving the example of restaurants that need workers, the mayor said.

Manuel Castro, commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, said migrants had been given work permits but the number was “not enough”: “We want to scale this.”

Adams also said he hoped other jurisdictions in the state would accept some migrants. He declined to say which ones: "We're not telling you."

Adams also wouldn’t say where the welcome center will be.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.